Do tent cities work? A look at winners and losers in Vancouver's history of park protests

VANCOUVER. JULY 20, 2014, - A about a dozen tents are set up in a homeless camp that has appeared in Oppenheimer Park in Vancouver, B.C., July 20, 2014. Backed by First Nations Leaders from the Downtown Eastside and Coast Salish Territories, they are defying an eviction order. DTES. (Arlen Redekop / PNG staff photo) (story by Frank Luba) 00030656B [PNG Merlin Archive]Arlen Redekop
/ PNG

More than a dozen Occupy Vancouver protesters stood face to face with church officials on Sunday afternoon at the downtown Holy Rosary Cathedral as a ...

Tent cities are more than just a standard form of protest — they also build community and social ties, and help empower people.

That’s the view of Harsha Walia, a Downtown Eastside activist.

“It’s a DIY kind of space,” said Walia.

“You don’t have to stand in a food line — everyone is involved in preparing food. That’s a big part of tent cities, and that’s what is often missing from the conversation.”

Walia added that besides their use as vehicles of protest, tent cities go up “because people without homes have to live somewhere.”

The temporary settlement in Oppenheimer Park is a very visible reminder of Vancouver’s growing homelessness problem. Such camps also call attention to squalid living conditions at rundown SROs.

Several tent cities have sprouted in Vancouver over the last decade, from the Woodward’s squat and the Olympics tent village to the current encampment at Oppenheimer Park.

At the heart of these protests have been the issues of homelessness and housing standards.

That’s not surprising, said Coun. Kerry Jang, whose portfolio for the city includes homelessness.

“Homelessness is very top of mind in Vancouver. We are going to see more protests and concerns about homelessness in the city, and that’s why it’s a priority for us,” Jang said.

Vancouver isn’t the only Canadian city dealing with tenting protesters. Victoria and Abbotsford have had homeless camps in public parks, igniting debate on how to deal with homelessness and the appropriate use of public spaces.

According to Vancouver bylaws, camping in public parks is not allowed because it blocks others from using the premises. But the bylaw lost its teeth after a pivotal B.C. Supreme Court decision in Victoria in 2009 that allowed the homeless to camp in public parks if there were no alternative shelters available.

Oppenheimer Park, 2014

Outcome: Unknown

When the city issued eviction notices to homeless people sleeping in the park on July 15, protesters moved in and claimed the land as unceded First Nations territory. The city’s most recent makeshift camp has about 40 tents, including a teepee and a fire pit.

Cause: Homelessness. Activists lashed out against the city for failing in its pledge to end homelessness, which is at an all-time high in Vancouver. Street homelessness spiked to 538 in the latest March 2014 count.

Camp Lasted: Two weeks and counting.

What happened: Ongoing. City and housing officials are working with people in the camp to find homes. The occupation at the park has displaced this weekend’s Powell Street Festival, but organizers have said they do not support the eviction of protesters.

Occupy Vancouver, 2011

Outcome: Loss

One of the longest and largest protests in the city, Occupy Vancouver took over the Vancouver Art Gallery’s north plaza on Oct. 15. The camp’s sophisticated setup included a first aid tent, a library, portable toilets, a stage, a food tent, and about 100 to 150 tents.

Cause: The local spinoff of an international movement against corporate greed and economic inequality.

Camp Lasted: Five weeks.

What happened: With a mishmash of demands and no clear or realistic goals, the movement wore out its welcome. The overdose death of a 23-year-old woman in a tent triggered a public backlash. A court injunction ordered an end to the encampment. The group moved on to Robson Square and Grandview Park, but did not last long. Price tag for taxpayers: nearly $1 million.

Olympic Village Tent City, 2011

Outcome: Loss

To mark the one-year anniversary of the successful Olympic tent city in 2010, about 75 activists marched to the Olympic Village in February and tried to establish a tent village in the square and plaza. Protesters demanded more social housing, with some wanting all unsold Olympic units converted to social housing.

Cause: Social housing. The number of social-housing units in the prime waterfront location was slashed from 252 to 126 after the city stepped in to bail out the project’s developer.

Camp Lasted: Hours.

What happened: Activists were ordered off the private property by police. Snow and freezing temperatures didn’t help.

Olympic Tent City, 2010

Outcome: Win

Three days after the Winter Games’ opening ceremony and with hordes of international media nearby, about 40 people set up a makeshift tent village on a vacant Concord Pacific lot on East Hastings.

Cause: Homelessness; increasing gentrification of the Downtown Eastside. The group later honed their demands: To provide housing to homeless occupants in the tent village.

Camp Lasted: About 14 days.

What happened: The tent city folded March 1 when campers voluntarily left after permanent housing was found for them. Many housing activists hailed the outcome as a victory.

Victory Square Squat, 2003

Outcome: Loss

Protesters occupied Victory Square on July 2, the day Vancouver’s winning Olympics bid was announced. After a few weeks some of the squatters left out of respect to veterans and moved into a string of city parks, including Crab Park, Thornton Park, Stanley Park and Creekside Park.

Cause: Organized by anti-poverty groups, the squat pushed for more social housing and protested changes to welfare rules.

On Sept. 13, about 50 people began squatting inside the empty and provincial-government-owned Woodward’s building to protest the lack of social housing. After a court injunction booted them out, defiant protesters set up tents and tarps on the sidewalk outside.

Cause: Social housing.

Camp Lasted: Nearly three months.

Outcome: The Woodward’s squat is largely credited with triggering the redevelopment process of the landmark building, which opened in 2010 as a mixed-use project with more than 200 social-housing units.

All Seasons Park, 1971

Outcome: Win

About 30 hippies built a shantytown near the Georgia Street entrance of Stanley Park to protest a plan by the Four Seasons chain to build a hotel at the site, dubbing it “All Seasons Park.” In one encounter with police, the protesters barricaded themselves inside a tent and argued they had a “prospecting permit” for the land.

Camp Lasted: Almost a year.

Outcome: On April 20, 1972, police forced the squatters out, while a backhoe knocked down the flimsy shelters. But the group’s vocal protest roused enough public opposition to the development. After years of discussion, the site, wedged between Stanley Park and Coal Harbour, was turned into Devonian Park.

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Do tent cities work? A look at winners and losers in Vancouver's history of park protests